For those perusing the streets of downtown Hilo in search of something sweet, unique, and intoxicating, I suggest that you make a stop at the Puna Chocolate Company & Café located at 277 Keawe Street. The café was always a great stop to enjoy a cup of delicious coffee and chocolate, but now with their added bar and custom drink menu all centered around the delectable farm-raised chocolate, Puna Chocolate Café is quickly becoming Hilo’s next hot night spot. Quaint isn’t quite the word, as you are able to shop for decadent chocolate treats, local art, and local dog treats on one side of the café, then on the other you’re able to enjoy your drink of choice (alcoholic or non-alcoholic).
As luck would have it, my dear friend has recently started working for Puna Chocolate Co. serving as a Chocolatier at their Kona location and bartender at their Hilo location, so I had the amazing opportunity to join in on one of their monthly events, the “Hilo Chocolates and Spirits Pairing”.
Arriving at the café, I was greeted with a few familiar faces (as happens when you live in Hilo) and found a seat at the bar to wait for the event to begin. I found the drink menu to be quite enticing, as each drink is a customized play on chocolate and coffee. I am an avid coffee drinker, and was drawn to the espresso martini. To say it’s good would be an understatement, it was more of a dessert in a glass. The frothy concoction is shaken with freshly made espresso and the first sip exceeded any expectations I had of what an espresso martini could be, with the nice jolt of caffeine and the smooth buzz of the Pau Vodka, I definitely was in my “good-feels”.
The event was curated to combine chocolate treats with all Hawaiian-made spirits – whiskey, bourbon, dark rum, gin, and vodka, and when I say that drinking liquor is not my forte- it means that I actually really do not drink hard liquor at all and it was about to be a “white-girl wasted” situation. My friend and I found our seats and the hosts passed out a nice little road map of what we would be experiencing. The chocolates were amazing, the liquor did its job (½ oz of liquor is more than enough for me for each serving), and after many scrunched up faces after taking shots of liquor and a lot of laughs, the event concluded and we ended the night with a lot of socializing at the bar.
Last but not least, Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe has recently had their grand opening of the only speak-easy in Hilo called the Hidden Nene, if you have not stopped in, make it a point to check out the swanky ambiance that can only be found at this gem of a place. If you are on instagram, their daily specials can be found on their page (@the_hidden_nene) along with “secret password” drinks. This new night spot is sure to leave a lasting wonderful impression as it is completely unique to downtown Hilo!
Puna Chocolate Company has 3 locations on the Big Island of Hawaii and offer farm tours at their Kona farm their locations are as follows:
Hilo – 277 Keawe Street
Kona – 74-5606 Pawai Place Bay 8
Kona Chocolate Farm Tour – Buy Tickets and See Address Here
South Kona, Kainaliu – 79-7378 Hawaii Belt Road, Kelekekua, HI 96750
Impressively, Puna Chocolate Company offers ongoing espresso workshops, chocolate and wine pairings along with their wide variety of locally-made products. For the holidays take advantage of their advent calendar (among other decadent treats) which you can have shipped directly to you or as gifts to friends and family world-wide. Visit their website www.punachocolate.com to see their online store and to get more information on tours and current offerings.
